From the Editors
Posted by estiator at 10 July, at 03 : 08 AM Print
Welcome to America!
July has always been the most patriotic of months, a time when Americans reflect on the values—freedom, liberty, and democracy—that have made our nation the greatest on Earth. And while those values forge the foundation of our great country, one of the columns that has supported our greatness since America’s birth has been the immigration to our shores by peoples from throughout the world, who are looking to improve their lives and contribute to the society they have chosen to join.
For our Independence month edition, Estiator pays homage to the thousands of Greek immigrants that came to the United States over the decades, particularly those who worked in restaurants, establishing what would become one of the most dynamic immigrant success stories. In “American By Choice,” Constantine Kolitsas takes a multigenerational look at Greek immigration through three individual stories, representative of the exodus from Greece in the 1950s, from Cyprus in the wake of the Turkish invasion, and from Greece during the global economic crisis of 2007, respectively.
Independence Day 2021 will surely take on special significance as the country emerges from 16 months of pandemic restrictions. In “Dining By Design,” Michael Kaminer discusses the future of restaurant design in the age of pandemic with architect Wid Chapman, whose firm is among the elite companies designing restaurants in New York City. “How will we adapt to make patrons feel not just comfortable and safe, but excited and inspired?” he asks.
In this month’s “Managing for Success,” Kolitsas, a restaurant owner and a consultant, relays a teachable moment from an unwinnable situation that arose as a result of the labor shortages that the industry (and all industries) is currently experiencing.
In “Ode to a Pomegranate,” in our Greek-language section, Athens-based correspondent Gina Kallitsi looks at how one company is packaging the ancient fruit. Could it be the next Greek product phenomenon to thrill the U.S. market?
Rounding out this month’s issue, for “Restaurant Spotlight,” Kaminer visits Skorpios, New York City’s newest Greek eatery, opened on East 54th Street during the pandemic by veteran restaurateur Ioannis Chatiris.
With the nation’s vaccination rates increasing and the return to some sort of normal across the entire country, we wish you all a happy Independence month!
Sincerely,
The Editorial and Publishing Staff
